The New York Knicks and New York Rangers are set to become two publicly traded companies.
Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. has approved plans to separate the New York Knicks and New York Rangers into two publicly traded companies, with the transaction scheduled for 26 October.
The company’s board of directors approved the spin-off on 30 September, which will see MSG Sports become MSG Knickerbockers Corp. (MSG Knicks), the owner of the Knicks, which won the 2026 NBA Championship last season, and its G-League team, the Westchester Knicks.
The newly created MSG Rangers Corp. will own the Rangers, Hartford Wolf Pack and MSG Training Centre, creating separate corporate structures for the NBA and NHL franchises.
As part of the transaction, MSG Sports shareholders will receive one share of MSG Rangers for every two shares of MSG Sports held as of the 20 October record date.
No action or payment will be required from shareholders to receive their MSG Rangers shares, with stock either being credited to their brokerage accounts or issued through a book-entry account.
The new companies will also receive separate stock market identities, with MSG Knicks expected to trade under the symbol MSGK and MSG Rangers under MSGR once regular trading begins on October 27.
MSG Rangers is expected to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on a “when issued” basis from 21 October, while MSG Sports will continue trading under an “ex-distribution” market until the deal is completed.
Both NBA and NHL rules state that while no team can be bought directly via public stock as the result of being a publicly traded company, it can be indirectly owned by a publicly traded body.
Why MSG is splitting the franchises
The Knicks and Rangers have been two of the most prominent sporting assets associated with Madison Square Garden, with the NBA and NHL franchises sharing a venue and operating within the same corporate structure.
The spin-off will give each team its own publicly traded company, allowing private investors and equity firms to gain exposure to the basketball and hockey businesses through separate stocks.
MSG Sports believes the new structure can create greater value by allowing the two businesses to operate as more focused companies, with Executive Chairman and CEO James L. Dolan saying both teams have “storied histories and large and passionate fan bases”.
“With our board’s approval, we are now one step closer to our goal of separating our Knicks and Rangers businesses into two distinct public companies,” Dolan said.
The company said the transaction aims to put each business in the best place for long-term growth, adding that both companies will be “well positioned to generate long-term value for shareholders”.
Separate companies, same CEO
Despite the separation, the two businesses will share the same top executive, with Dolan set to be Executive Chairman and CEO of both MSG Knicks and MSG Rangers.
Dolan has been a key figure in the wider Madison Square Garden business for decades, having previously served as CEO of Cablevision and held senior leadership roles across the company’s sports and entertainment operations.
He has also served as the Governor for both the Knicks and Rangers. Under the new structure, Dolan will continue to oversee both businesses at the corporate level.
The transaction remains subject to several conditions, including the effectiveness of MSG Sports’ Form 10 registration statement.
These include final league approval and receipt of a tax opinion from counsel. MSG Sports has also said the spin-off looks to qualify as a tax-free distribution for US federal income tax purposes.
If those conditions are satisfied, 26 October will see the formal creation of MSG Rangers and the transformation of MSG Sports into MSG Knicks.
